Door check



Feb. l5, 1938. w. H. PUGSLEY 2,108,511

DOOR CHECK Filed Jan. 4, 195e 2 sheets-sheet `1 Bg l l Feb. 15, 1938. W H PUGSLEY 2,108,511

v DOOR CHECK Filed Jan. 4. 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 15, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DOOR CHECK William H. Pugsley, Minneapolis, Minn. Application January 4, 1936, Serial No. 57,538

6 Claims.

This invention relates to a doorV check, and particularly to the type of door check which is secured to a swinging door and acts to close the door with a slow movement after the door has been opened.

It is an object of this invention to provide a door check structure of simple and compact form and one which will operate equally well at all temperatures. Y

It is a further object of the invention to provide a door check of simple and eilicient construction, which offers substantially no resistance to the opening movement of the door but which embodies a resistance to the closing movement of the door.

It is another object of the invention to Yprovide a door check comprising a spring or similar mo tor which acts to close the door and which also acts to revolve a rotatable pneumatic resistance element, such as a fan, which fan may be constructed and arranged` to increase itsresistance as its speed of rotation is increased.

It is more specifically an objectof the inven? tion to provide a door check comprising a casing adapted to be secured to a door, a spring in said casing secured thereto,V 4a shaft secured to said spring, a second shaft journaled ingsaid casing with gearing for driving said second shaft at increased speed from said rst mentioned shaft, a fan carried by said second shaft together with means for turning said first mentioned shaft when said door is swung open, a further means being provided for turning said second shaft when said door is closed' but not turning the same when said door is swung open.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be fully set forth in the following description made in connection with the accom.- panying drawings, in which like reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views and in whichz- Fig. ,1 is a top plan view of the door check showing a portion of the door and door jamb with certain parts shown in different positions in dotted lines;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken `on line 2 2 of Fig. l as indicated by the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 2 as indicated by the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken on line 4 4 of Fig. 2 as indicated by the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section taken on line 5 5 of Fig. 2 as indicated by the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a partial horizontal section taken on line 6 6 of Fig. 2 as indicated by the arrow; and

(Cl. 16 fl9) Fig. 7 is a vertical section taken on line 'I I of Fig. 6 as indicated by the arrows.

Referring to the drawings, a casing I is shown of rather elongated form, the same having sides which are parallel for the greater portion of its length and which then converge to a semi-cylindrical end portion, said casing is provided with vertical flanges lila at one end apertured to receive screws Il by which said casing may be secured to'a doorrlgfajportion of which is shown, a part of the vertical door frame or casing is also shown as iZa. Said casing has an intermediate portion Ib, a cover plate |00 and a lower cylindrical portion Ild. The intermediate portion Illb has a hub Ille and a cylindrical member If surrounds this hub below the bottom of the casing and engages the bottom of the casing to which it is secured by spaced screws I3, shown as having their heads countersunk in member I f. Member Iiif fits within the top of the cylindrical portion Id of the casing and the same has a circumferential slot l Dg in its periphery. A plurality of circumferentially spaced screws I4 extend through the wall of casing portion Illdinto the slotr illg and thus supportfsaid portion. The portion Id has a block I secured to its inner wall by the spaced rivets I6, said block having oppositely directed flanges. A spiral plate spring Il is provided having one end I 'Ea bent to form a hook which engages one of the flanges on block l5. The inner end of spring Il' is bent substantially at a right angle and disposed in a vertical slot G8@ formed in a bushing I8 secured to a shaft i9, as by the pin 29. Shaft I9 is journaled in hub Ille and also in a hub Illh formed at the top of the cover plate Ic. Shaft I9 has an angularly shaped portion I 9ct at its top shown as square in plane to which is secured one end of a lever 2 l. Lever ZI is shown as having a split hub fitting over portion 69a, which hub has therein a stud 22 by which it may be tightened. Lever 2| has a hub at its outer end recessed to receive a ball 23a. on the end of a stud 23 which extends vertically through the end of another lever 2li, said stud having a nut 25 threaded thereon engaging the bottom of lever 2Q. Lever 2li has a section 24ar having an elongated slot therein and a hub at one end in which hub is threaded the other portion 24h of saidlever, said latter portion being apertured at its end to receive Ya pivot pin 2@ also passingthrough a small bracket 21 secured to the'door frame 28 above the door I2.

With the described construction of the levers 2| and 24 it will be seen that shaft I9 will be turned when the door I2 is swung.

The upper portion of casing portion IIld has formed therein at its exterior a plurality of circumferentially spaced slots Ili. These slots are adapted to be engaged by a pawl 29 pivoted by the rivet 30 to the bottom of casing portion IIJb. It will be noted that pawl 29 has two arms and thus can be swung so that either arm will engage with slots |01'. It will also be noted that spring I1 can be inverted and reversed and its hook portion I1a engaged over the other flange of block I5. These parts are thus reversible to suit doors swinging in different directions.

The shaft I9 has secured thereto the inner member 3| of an overrunning clutch the outer member of which constitutes a gear 32. Member 3| has a plurality of recesses 3|a formed therein shown as three in number and in which are disposed, respectively, rollers 33. Each of these rollers is engaged by a small plunger 34 disposed in a hole formed in the end wall of each recess 3 Ia, which plunger is urged outwardly by a small coiled compression spring 35 disposed in said hole. Rollers 33 are supported on a plate 36 surrounding shaft I9 and resting on the top of hub Ille. A plate 36a overlies rollers 33, said plate being disposed on top of member 3| and held down by a collar |91) on shaft I9. With the described structure it will be seen that when shaft |9 is turned in one direction gear 32 will be driven or turned with said shaft, but when shaft I9 is turned in the opposite direction said gear 32 will not be driven. Gear 32 meshes with a pinion 31, which is shown as formed integrally with a gear 38 disposed above pinion 31. Pinion 31 and gear 38 are journaled on a stud 39 having a reduced portion disposed in a hub'projecting upwardly from the bottom of casing portion Illb and having another reduced portion in cover plate Illc, which latter portion is threaded to receive a nut 40. The lower end portion of stud 39 is formed as a aring countersunk head substantially flush with the bottom of casing portion Ib. Gear 38 meshes with a pinion 4| secured to a stud 42 having a reduced headed portion disposed in the bottom of casing portion |0b and extending through a hub projecting from said bottom, the same also having a reduced threaded portion extending through cover plate |90, which portion is adapted to receive a nut 43. Thenuts 40 and 43 form the securing means for holding cover plate IElc in position. The stud42 has secured thereto a gear 44 and this gear meshes with a pinion 45a secured to a shaft 45 and forming a part thereof, said shaft having a lower reduced portion journaled in a hub at the bottom of casing portion Ib and also being journaled in a hub projecting upwardly from cover plate I8c. It will be noted that members 31, 38 and gear 44 rest on the hubs in the bottom of casing portion IIlb.

The shaft 45 has its upper end threaded and has secured to said end a block 46 having outwardly projecting lugs 46a which are circumferentially spaced and to which are pivoted transverse pivot arms 41. Arms 41 have secured thereto fan blades 48, shown as having lower flaring and rounded ends. Each blade has secured to it at its inner side a small clip bracket 49 to which is pivoted about a transverse pivot a rod 5U. :Rods 50 have eyelets or loops at their lower ends passing through holes in the cylindrical flange 5 Ia of a cup-like member 5I having a depending hub slidable on shaft 45. Rods 58 are thus pivotally connected to member 5|. A

compression coil spring 52 surrounds shaft 45 bearing at its lower end on member 5| and engaging at its upper end a nut 53 threaded on shaft 45 and engaged by a similar jamb nut 54, nuts 53 and 54 having knurled cylindrical peripheries. Nuts 55 and 56 are also threaded on shaft 45 engaging respectively the bottom and top of block 46.

In operation, when the door I2 is in closed position, the parts occupy the positions shown in Fig. 1 in full lines. When the door is swung open the parts move to the positions indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. l. It will be seen that in this movement lever arm 2| moves relatively to casing III'I and shaft I9 is rotated. 'I'his rotation is in a counter-clockwise direction and thus clutch member 3| does not drive gear 32 through the rollers 33 and member 3| thus rotates idly in gear 32. Sleeve I8, however, is turned with shaft I9 and spring I1 is flexed or wound up. Since clutch 3| does not operate to drive gear 32, shaft 45 is not driven and fan 48 is not driven. When door I2 has been swung to its maximum or desired open position and is released by the party opening it, spring I1 tends to unwind and exert force on shaft I9 to rotate the same. Shaft I9 is thus rotated in a clockwise direction and member 3| is turned with it and said member is clutched to the gear 32 by the rollers 33. Gear 32 is thus rotated and shaft 45 is rotated through the train of gears 31, 38, 4I, 44, and 45a. Shaft 45 is rotated at high speed and fan blades 48 are thus rotated. As these blades are rotated they are thrown outwardly by centrifugal force and the diameter of the fan formed by said blades is thus increased. The blades 48 offer quite a resistance to the turning of shaft 45 and this resistance increases with the speed of shaft 45. Spring I1 continues to exert force on shaft I9 to turn the same and the parts are thus brought slowly back to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1, the speed of this movement being retarded and kept small by rotation of fan blades 48. Spring I1, however, is of sufcient strength to continue to act until door I2 is entirely closed and latched, if there is a latch thereon. It will be seen that members 24a and 24h can be longitudinally adjusted to suit the particular installation or to produce the desired turning movement on lever 2 I. The tension of spring I1 can be adjusted by turning casing portion I 8d, said casing portion is held in position with the desired tension on spring I1 by engaging of pawl 29 with one of the slots IIlz'. The tension of spring 52 can be regulated by adjustment of nuts 53 and 54 on rod 45.

From the above description it is seen that applicant has provided a simple and efficient structure of door check. When the door is opened no resistance is offered to the opening movement except for winding spring |1. When the door is allowed to close it is closed by spring I1 and the fan is driven to retard the closing movement and insure that the door will be brought gently to closed position. The structure works equally well whether the temperature be quite low or quite high. 'Ihere is no fluid which must pass through any small opening and temperature changes thus do not affect the operation of the device. There are no parts to get out of adjustment and the device does not depend upon any delicate parts for its operation. The action is positive and no tension is needed for maintaining the device in operation. Casing Ill can contain oil or grease so that the parts are thoroughly lubricated. The device has been amply demonstrated in actual practice and Was found to be very successful and eicient.

It will, of course, be understood that various.y

changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement an-d proportions of the parts, without departing from the scope of applicants invention, which generally stated, consists in a device capable of carrying out the objects above set forth in the parts and combinations of parts disclosed and defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed iszl. A door check and closer structure having in combination, a casing adapted to be secured to a door, a shaft journaled in said casing, a second casing below said first mentioned casing into which said shaft extends, a spring in said second casing and secured thereto and to said shaft, a second shaft journaled in said first mentioned casing and extending thereabove, a train of gears in said rst mentioned casing for driving said second shaft from said first mentioned shaft and at greatly increased speed, a fan secured to said second shaft above said rst mentioned casing and affording resistance against the air When said Ydoor is swung and said rst mentioned shaft rotated, the air resistance to said fan acting as a brake on said spring in the closing movement of said door.

2. A door check and closer structure having in combination, a casing, a shaft journaled in said casing andprojecting vertically therefrom, a fan outside of said casing carried by said shaft and means for turning said shaft at high speed when said door swings so that said fan is revolved at high speed and produces resistance against the air to have a braking effect on said means to retard movement of said door.

3. A door check and closer structure having in combination, a casing adapted to be secured to a door, a shaft journaled in said casing, means in said casing actuated by movement of said door for rotating said shaft, a second shaft journaled in` said casing and extending vertically therefrom, means for driving said second shaft from said first shaft at greatly increased speed, a

revoluble device having means acting against the air to create resistance and causing a braking effect on said rst mentioned means.

4. A door check and closer structure having in combination, a casing adapted to be secured to a door, a spring in said casing and secured thereto, a shaft secured to said spring, a second shaft journaled in said casing driven at increased speed from said first mentioned shaft, said second shaft extending vertically from said casing, a plurality of fan blades secured to said second shaft outside of said casing, said blades ,being disposed in vertical planes extending radially to said second shaft and pivoted for out- Wardly swinging movement in said planes when said second shaft is rotated and means for turning said rst mentioned shaft and placing said spring under tension when said door is swung open, said blades having air resistance acting as a brake on said spring in the closing movements of said door.

5. A door check and closer structure having in combination, a casing adapted to be secured to a door, a shaft journaled in said casing and projecting vertically thereabove, a plurality of fan blades secured to sai-d shaft outside of said casing and disposed in vertical planes extending radially to the axis of said shaft, said blades being pivoted at their upper ends for outwardly swinging movement, resilient means resisting the outwardly swinging movement of said blades and means actuated by movement of said door for rotating said shaft at high speed so that said blades form a pneumatic resistance and act as a brake on said means.

6. A door check and closer structure having in combinatioma casing adapted to be secured to a door, a shaft journaled in said casing and projecting vertically thereabove, a plurality of Yfan blades secured to said shaft, means actuated by movement of said door for rotating said shaft at high speed, said blades developing air resistance in their revolution and acting as a brake on said means.

WILLIAM H. PUGSLEY. 

